HC verdict on Zubaida's plea any day

The High Court (HC) will deliver a verdict any day on a petition filed by Zubaida Rahman, wife of BNP leader Tarique Rahman, for scrapping the proceedings of a corruption case against her in 2008.

The bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice Krishna Debnath kept the petition waiting for verdict, as it concluded final hearing yesterday.

On September 26, 2008, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case with Kafrul Police Station against Senior Vice Chairman of BNP Tarique, who is now in London, his wife Zubaida and mother-in-law Iqbal Mand Banu for amassing assets through illegal means and concealing information in the wealth statement.

Investigation officer of the case pressed charges against the three at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, Dhaka, on March 31, 2009. Fifty-seven people were shown as prosecution witnesses.

According to the charge sheet, Tarique has accumulated wealth worth around Tk 2.75 crore beyond his known sources of income and held back information about assets worth around Tk 2.17 crore in his statement to the anti-graft body.

Zubaida and her mother were accused of aiding and abetting Tarique.

Following the petition filed by Zubaida, the HC on April 8, 2009, stayed the proceedings of the case against her and issued a rule asking the ACC to explain as to why the proceedings against her should not be scrapped.